German brewery Bitburger is set to return as the official beer of the German soccer federation, the DFB, and its national teams after a six-year absence.
Bitburger held rights covering the beer sponsorship category from 1992 until the end of 2018 – since then, DFB has left that category vacant.
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However, the brewery will resume its position in April in a multi-year deal covering the men’s, women’s, men’s U21 and women’s U23 national teams.
Dr Holger Blask, chairman of the DFB management board, has said: “The DFB and Bitburger – this partnership has a long tradition and has been a household name for football fans for more than two decades.
“Bitburger has always remained loyal to football, partly through partnerships with our regional associations and their regional cup competitions, through amateur clubs, and as a beer partner of our home European Championship last year. The comeback with the DFB now means a holistic commitment to all of football in Germany – from the grassroots to the top.”
The brewery said it will support the matches of those national teams with “attention-grabbing” campaigns, sales promotions, and fan competitions, as well as social media activities.
It added as part of its new partnership, it would promote men’s and women’s soccer on equal footing, with the Bitburger stating it would use the upcoming Women’s 2025 European Championship tournament to increase the visibility of the women’s national team.
Sebastian Holtz, sales and marketing director of Bitburger, added: “Football has always played a major role at Bitburger – whether as a supporter of numerous amateur clubs in popular sports, as a sponsor of major Bundesliga clubs or, in the future, as a partner of our national teams.
“With this partnership, we would like to further strengthen the unifying power of football, which we all experienced impressively at the last European Championships in our own country.”
Bitburger’s relationship with the DFB – while long-standing – has had its ups and downs. In 2011, then-DFB president Theo Zwanziger vetoed a proposed renewal of a sponsorship deal with the brewery due to the federation’s drive for alcohol-free advertising in sport.
The renewal eventually went ahead and focused on Bitburger’s alcohol-free beer instead.
Then, in 2017, the DFB and Bitburger announced they would not extend their partnership after the expiry of their contract at the end of 2018, with Bitburger citing new strategic direction.
During its absence from DFB sponsorship, Bitburger continued its sponsorships elsewhere in soccer, including as an official national partner of the UEFA Euro 2024 international soccer tournament, staged in Germany.
It has also had sponsorship agreements in place with German soccer teams Bayer Leverkusen, Cologne, and Hoffenheim.
The DFB, meanwhile, has increased its commercial partnerships stable after securing the Marc O’Polo Scandinavian clothing brand as a new sponsor, while also extending its sponsorship deal with soft drinks giant Coca-Cola in January.
Mid-December, meanwhile, saw the body extend and expand its partnership with the country’s media and telecoms giant Deutsche Telekom.
The DFB’s other premium partners include Volkswagen, Adidas, Continental Tire, Strauss, and Interwetten.
